Is Milani Cruelty-free?

Last Updated on April 9, 2021 by Eco Elsie

Milani is a US drugstore beauty brand known for its bright and bold hues that are inspired by the eye-catching runways of Milan. However, if you’re conscious about how ethical your make-up bag is, you might be wondering whether or not Milani is cruelty-free.

We’ve scoured the internet to find the relevant information, and have answered other related questions on the ethics of Milani.

So, let’s take a look.

Is Milani cruelty-free?

Great news – Milani is cruelty-free!

None of their finished products, ingredients, or formulations are tested on animals, anywhere in the world. To prove it, Milani has the stamp of approval of Leaping Bunny, the internationally recognized cruelty-free accreditation, as well as PETA’s Global Beauty Without Bunnies Logo.

It’s great that Milani is backed up by these two logos, as many companies claim to be ‘cruelty-free’ when they’re not, mainly due to the fact that there are no legal limitations to the term ‘cruelty-free.’

Some companies also claim to be cruelty-free even though they sell in countries that require animal testing by law. Thankfully, Milani isn’t one of those countries – Milani isn’t sold in China, where it would be subject to strict animal testing laws where products can randomly be pulled from the market and tested at any stage.

It’s great news that Milani doesn’t sell on the Chinese market, as a brand can’t be classed as completely and truly cruelty-free if it sells to a country with mandatory animal testing regulations.

Is Milani vegan?

Milani isn’t a vegan brand, as some of their products contain animal derivatives such as beeswax, carmine, lanolin, or other animal-derived ingredients, however, the great news is that Milani offers an extensive range of vegan products.

Milani’s vegan products are clearly labeled on their website, so simply lookout for the products labeled ‘vegan.’ As we noted above, you can also rest assured that Milani is 100% cruelty-free, which is essential for all vegan beauty lovers.

Milani even has a ‘vegan’ section on their website. Here you’ll find some of its best-selling products that are certified vegan, including their Mineral Compact MakeUp, Strobelight Instant Glow Powder, Stay Put Brow Color, Keep it Smooth Lip Treatment, and their Color Harmony Blush Palette. So there’s plenty of Milani vegan products to choose from!

Is Milani an ethical company?

Milani is clearly strongly against animal testing, which is always a great start.

Milani’s products are manufactured mainly in the USA, Canada, Italy, or Germany. You can find out where each product was made in the product description on their website.

In terms of sustainability, Milani does not claim to be a sustainable company, and there isn’t much information available online regarding their environmental and social initiatives.

Milani claims it is seeking to find out whether its use of Mica, the naturally occurring mineral dust often used in makeup foundations, is sustainably and ethically sourced, and according to the Ethical Elephant, this is where they stand on the matter:

“We are actively working with all of our manufacturers to share where any mica they use is sourced and we are committed to conducting a full review of our supply chains for better insights. We will transparently share this information with our loyal fans and customers when possible. We appreciate your patience as we investigate this matter.”

Milani and Jordana were recently sold to Gryphon Investors, who don’t typically invest in the beauty industry, but it seems Milani is still very much a cruelty-free brand under them and that isn’t set to change anytime soon. There isn’t much other information on Gryphon Investors online though, although they do have a large portfolio of other brands – including hospitals and businesses – so we’d need to dig a little deeper to determine how ethical the parent brand of Milani is.

Does Milani test on animals?

No, Milani absolutely does not test on animals.

They are Leaping Bunny and PETA certified, meaning they do not test on animals at any stage in the product development, and that none of the ingredients they use are tested on animals either.

They also don’t sell in countries such as China, where items can be pulled from the market at any point to be tested on animals.

Are Milani products toxic?

Lots of make-up lovers have now taken to checking how ‘toxic’ their products are. ‘Clean’ beauty is the idea that products are not only kind on your skin, but don’t damage the environment, either.

EWG Skin Deep is a great resource as it breaks down different products and rates them in terms of how toxic or healthy their ingredients are.

We typed Milani into their search engine to see what we could find out.

Turns out it’s a pretty mixed bag; Milani’s products ranged from being as low as a 1 (very good) to a 7 (not good). You can check this out for yourself here.

Some of the worst products were their Metallic Lip Creme in ‘24 Vampy Matte.’ This contained a range of ingredients or symptoms EWG rates as concerning, including:

  • Endocrine disruption
  • Contamination concerns
  • Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
  • Miscellaneous
  • Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
  • Occupational hazards
  • Persistence and bioaccumulation
  • Use restrictions

On the other hand, products such as Milani Conceal + Perfect stick in ‘245 Warm Beige’ and their Prime Shield Face Shielder scored a 1, which is a very good score. Different shades received different scores, so you’ll need to check the ingredients of a specific shade in order to find out the EWG ratings.

Milani displays each product’s ingredients on its website, and it doesn’t market itself as a clean or natural beauty brand so it’s unlikely that their products will be non-toxic, but then again, pretty much all beauty brands contain some level of toxic ingredients. Many brands consider these to be safe and ‘dermatologically tested’, although sites such as EWG would of course strongly disagree with this.

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